Did it Work?
by runyoubadwolf
Summary: On Friday nights, Marinette and Chat Noir spend their time out on Marinette's balcony chatting. Tonight, their conversation turned to anime, a topic that ended up being surprisingly serious.


There was an unspoken rule that Friday nights were balcony nights. Marinette and Chat Noir would typically end up hanging out in Marinette's room multiple times per week, but balcony nights were different. On balcony nights the two simply talked. No video games, no designing, just talking and getting to know each other. Well, as well as one can get to know someone in a mask.

It was a time they both valued. Some topics were heavy. Sometimes it was only one of them ranting all night. Comfortable silence was also known to settle on occasion. Many times, like that night, it was a night to goof around and talk about miscellaneous topics.

Both of their legs dangled over the side of the balcony, kicking slightly in time with each other. "So, Chat, I know you love anime but you've never told me what your favorite genre was." Marinette was looking at him with her head cocked to the side in question.

The cat boy tapped a finger against his chin as he thought. "Hmm, I would have to say shoujo anime, specifically romance and magic girl ones. My childhood best friend was the one to first introduced me to anime and she started by showing me her favorite shoujos. I've been addicted ever since." Chat shrugged.

"Really? That's not what I expected but I can definitely see you being into those. I've never been huge into the magic girl anime but I've watched a lot of romance ones. I recently watched Fruits Basket and loved it."

"I bet your favorite zodiac is the cat then? I may not fully turn into a cat but I'm close enough right? I mean, I do purr." Chat wiggled his mask covered brows at Marinette as he leaned in slightly.

Marinette rolled her eyes and pushed Chat's face away by the nose, hoping he wouldn't notice the slight blush dusting her cheeks. His flirting was the worst but it still got to Marinette from time to time. "Anyway, what is your favorite romance anime? Maybe I've watched it before."

Chat's eyes lit up. "Only the best anime ever, Ouran High School Host Club! I've learned everything I know about flirting from Tamaki. He's just so suave and… Wait, why are you laughing?" There were tears in Marinette's eyes as she cackled.

Getting a single word out was difficult, let alone a full sentence, but she managed. "You're telling me that all the bad flirting you do is because you're imitating, walking human disaster, Tamaki Suoh? No wonder you're flirting is so cheesy if that's your flirting role model."

Marinette whipped a stray tear that had escaped as Chat huffed. "Hey, I'll have you know that I've had remarkable results with my flirting techniques." Chat crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out at the still giggling girl.

"Okay, okay kitty. You're right, I shouldn't judge so quickly. Just because your flirting hasn't worked on Ladybug doesn't mean it hasn't worked on other girls. I'm sure countless women have fallen under the Chat Noir spell." Marinette's chuckling began anew for a split second before she saw how serious Chat had suddenly gotten.

Chat reached over and grasped one of Marinette's hands, pressing a kiss to the back of it then resting their joined hands between them. It barley registered to Marinette that Chat was still holding her hand, she was too focused on his words. "Marinette, there are only two girls I flirt with. Ladybug and you. Like you said, my flirting obviously hasn't worked on Ladybug but, you never said anything about it not working on you. So, tell me Marinette, has my flirting worked on you?" There wasn't an ounce of humor in Chat's voice but there was no way he was saying what Marinette thought he was saying.

She felt her cheeks blazing as she let out a nervous chuckle, snapping her head forward to look out over the railing. "Yeah, sure okay. Ha, ha, very funny." Marinette pulled her hand from his, pushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "So, magic girl anime. What's so special about them?"

There was a pressure at her jaw, Chat's forefinger and thumb gently turned Marinette's head back to look at him. She saw multiple emotions in those cat like eyes of his but, the one easiest to decipher, she didn't dare name. "Please answer the question Princess." Chat dropped his hand to rest next to Marinette's on the floor of the balcony.

Marinette took a deep breath, turning her head to look out from the balcony again. She never thought this would be a serious talk kind of night but here they were. "I'll admit, it's charming and does get to me at times but ultimately, no." She could see Chat begin to deflate beside her. Marinette quickly grabbed his hand, squeezing it slightly in reassurance. "Your thoughtfulness and caring personality is what worked."

Chat looked at her dumbfounded, mouth hanging open slightly. It was evident he hadn't been expecting her to say anything along those lines. If Marinette hadn't been so nervous about what his reaction meant, she probably would have felt a bit accomplished for making the cat boy speechless.

The amount of time Chat had been looking at her in shock probably wasn't a good sign. Sighing, Marinette uncurled her fingers from around Chat's hand, ready to pull away. He quickly grabbed her retreating hand. "Marinette." The softness in Chat's voice made Marinette turn to look at him. "Do you mean that?" He was giving her an out and she would have been more than willing to take it if it weren't for the blush staining his cheeks and the dopey grin he was giving her.

Marinette returned that dopey grin with one equally as dopey. "Yeah, I do. I-" Before Marinette could finish her sentence, Chat Noir's lips were upon her own. It took her a moment to realize she'd frozen and should probably start participating in this kiss. Marinette wrapped her arms around Chat's head, tangling her fingers into his fluffy locks like she'd dreamed about doing for months. Marinette was pretty sure Host Club was getting an honorary mention on her favorite anime list from now on.


End file.
